How boring is Kevin Rudd's wine cellar? 

Apparently, his choice in boring wine is interesting enough to write an article about how conventional the collection is in May 2009, October 2009, and January 2010. The most recent article was also illustrated with a lavish cartoon in The Australian newspaper, a possible indicator that the more undrinkable that the collection becomes over time, the more in depth coverage of it is required. It is clear that the Australian media is captivated by prosaic wine choices. Three articles maketh a trend. 

What none of the articles managed was to compare the previous wine list to examine which wines had been consumed in the intervening period. Would it not be better to divine a leader's character by what they drink rather than what they store? Each article mentions that a single bottle of '85 Dom Perignon, worth $300, is in the collection; none mention that it was never opened and has been gathering dust in the basement of Kirribilli House since as early as 2001.

The media gets the list of wines from the Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee which regularly questions the contents of the cellars at Kirribilli House and The Lodge.

Here's the list in July then the most recent from December. As boring as the lists may be, it becomes evident that not many wines are being touched. The most expensive bottle of wine opened was a $54 bottle of Houghton Frankland River Shiraz; the cheapest opened was an $8.90 bottle of Taltarni Fiddleback (acquired by John Howard).  In terms of consumption, the most of a single wine that was consumed was the Kangarilla Road 2006 Fluerieu Primitivo. Almost two dozen bottles are gone. It is hardly the most conventional choice, as the primitivo grape (probably better known as zinfandel) is not the most popular in Australia.

There is bipartisan scrutiny of the Prime Ministerial cellar - former Prime Minister John Howard's choice in wines received similar examination and was deemed equally dull. Howard proceeded to hire a wine consultant to add some more interest to the cellar, a move for which he was duly panned. Labor Member for Banks, Daryl Melham, questioned the acquisition and subsequent consumption of the classier booze in question time:

DARYL MELHAM: Prime Minister, will you confirm that your $15,000 wine consultant, Mr Peter Borne, advised that 58 dozen bottles of wine be purchased for use at Kirribilli House and the Lodge, and that they be laid down for four to five years to mature? Is it true that after just one year 46 dozen of these bottles are now missing, presumed drunk? Why did you ignore Mr Borne's $15,000 advice? Prime Minister, where's the wine gone?

JOHN HOWARD: I have to . I have to confess that although I do enjoy a drink, Mr Speaker, and that is known, Mr Speaker, and it is not a matter of which I am ashamed - I don't think I enjoy it to the extent suggested by the Member for Banks.